Nessy Dahan
Hey everyone! My name is Nessy Dahan, and I am currently a second semester freshman in the Macaulay Honors program at Brooklyn College. I am currently on the pre-med track, with aspirations of becoming a pediatrician, and I majoring in psychology.
My personal history all began on June 12, 1990. Considered to be the glorious of all days by some, this was the date on which I was born. Although quite a happy day for my family, as time moved on, medical problems began to arise. From several eye and ear surgeries, to partial deafness, and finally a mysterious neck ailment, there were many shortcomings that fell before me. While many believed these issues would prove to be detrimental to my development, I am glad to say that it served the opposite. They helped me become who I am today, and more importantly, they showed me that I could overcome any barrier that tries to stop me. You might even say that they have been a blessing in disguise.
Moving on from medical inquiries, I am an 18-year-old Jewish American, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Both of my parents were born in Beirut, Lebanon, and were raised in Bat Yam, Israel. They came to New York in the eighties for the economic opportunities, and eventually met and got married. Additionally, I currently live in a quite large Jewish community in the Flatbush region of Brooklyn, and I was raised with these Jewish beliefs throughout my entire life.
Although I lived in New York for practically my entire life, I never really found an exact moment that made me consider myself to have true New York blood within me, until I entered my first year in college. Of course I lived for all that was New York, such as the Mets, the Knicks, the Jets, the better than you attitude, and the rushed life, but none of this seemed that influential to me. As previously mentioned, I have lived in a Jewish community throughout my years. I have seen the same people daily, eaten the same foods in the same restaurants, and basically been surrounded by Jews my entire life. In other words, I have lived in a bubble. But, when I first came to college and met new people from other cultures and countries, such as Shuvro and Dane, my world changed dramatically, and this bubble had burst. I was open to new ideas, new customs, and new backgrounds, and I started to appreciate other viewpoints, and basically other ways of life. This moment made me value the true diversity of the city that we live in, which I am seeing more and more daily, and I was finally set free from the bubble that had trapped me my entire life.
Good!